What is Hybrid Publishing? Everything You Need to Know

One of the most disorienting places to exist is in the quiet tug-of-war between extremes.

These aren’t dramatic crises of survival, but hushed zones where the soul is stretched thin, the fibres pulled taut, confidence fraying, the self, shrinking into corners we didn’t know existed. Add to that the gnawing anxiety of having to lay our words bare- only to watch them get picked apart, reshaped, appropriated, and reframed until they resemble a product more than a voice- and it’s enough to make most retreat. Back into the soft, undemanding safety of journals and word files. Back into being unread, but untouched. But retreat, however comforting, is often a temporary sanctuary. Because at some point, most writers will attempt to carry their words beyond the bounds of solitude. Into the world. And that is where the real turbulence begins. It is difficult and often overwhelming to navigate the turbulent waters of the publishing industry, especially when trying to get your manuscript from your screen to the pristinely adorned shelf.

And the first major wave to brace for, particularly when dealing with a traditional publishing house, is this: content modification rights. A written text is a documentation of a singular perspective- one not crafted to chase reciprocation, but to express. But the moment it enters the machinery of a publishing-house, it is restructured to echo the successes of its genre’s predecessors. What began as voice becomes strategy with every change meticulously engineered to appease the algorithm. All the drive is to prove oneself worthy enough to be picked up and caught hold of in the ever- increasing blackhole of creations.

Popular literature that works for the mass are pretty formulaic, running on tried and tested templates. The book shouldn’t be “too triggering,” yet not “too bland and uneventful,” shouldn’t be “too experimental,” yet “unique” and “original” enough to have a standing of its own. Writing is inherently a political exercise. The moment an opinion takes form on the page, it enters the realm of the political. And yet, to deny that voice its space is a great crime. Every voice deserves to be heard and seen because without them, we risk dissolving into the monotonous monochrome of what is deemed “acceptable.” If at all the writing has been able to surpass all these hurdles, without undergoing drastic tweaking, in order to squeeze them into the established categories, time become another gauntlet to run.

The world moves at a relentless pace. It has no stopping. The work in the traditional publishing industry on the other hand- not quite. A manuscript goes through immense wait times. Depending upon the size of the publishing house, its resources, the manuscript’s complexity and quality, the lead time in a traditional publishing house can range anywhere from months to years, the average being 18 months. This time becomes crucial if the work is aiming to clock its release to align with the current genre popularity trends. Public interest is a wild beast to tame and the author in times of such events is left to bear the brunt of the fallout. The chances of nailing the release becomes even slim for a debut author, for they might not have the access to the best team and hence the best services.

The traditional industries are bound by their need to produce books that would drive huge profits for the firm. This motive filters out a majority of the manuscripts received. And this brings us to royalties. Royalties are another domain where the authors are left more or less undercompensated. And the author- the mind behind the creation, is left staring at fading dregs after the house has had its fill. The average royalty rates for a debut author lies around 10-15% if taken the traditional route. That is relinquishing around 85% of the royalty, which could have been taken hold of. This stands as a sharp contrast of the 60-70% royalties-retention in the self-publishing mode and more or less around the same percentages in the hybrid publishing.

Hybrid Publishing Explained

Hybrid publishing, an author- friendly model comes as saviour in these crises. With hybrid publishing, these scenarios become pretty much non-existent. A hybrid publisher handles the publishing legwork which includes the production cost i.e., cover design, interior formatting and arrangement, editing and ISBN purchase; marketing i.e., social media promotions, PR campaigns, articles, press releases, collaboration with influencers; and distribution. The author has the freedom of picking up the cover design, designing the layout of the book, more authority over the content edits, and far more royalties to hold on to.

The hybrid publishing house shares some financial risk with the author. They don’t claim any percentage in the backend sales, have the royalties deposited directly into the author’s bank account, and take a further step giving the authors full copyright on their works. This creates more space for the author to get into further production of their content such as audiobooks, translations, film adaptations and the likes without having the publishing house unnecessarily meddling in between.

While most hybrid publishers still curate their list based on quality and marketability, Vanity publishing does away with it altogether. The former shouldn’t be confused with the later. In the case of Vanity publishing, the house does not aid in any process of quality check and control. Rarely do they offer professional editing or marketing, retain no real distribution network and just about publish any manuscript in exchange for some upfront cost. Their profit generation is solely based on author payments rather than book sales.

The downsides of hybrid publishing are just as large to be considered. From the upfront cost to the marketing and publicity of the book, the stakes pile up considerably high for those still finding their literary footing. If the writing is meant to be a business, then following the norms and trusting the manuscripts with the hands of the traditional publishing houses becomes the best decision, for it frees the authors from the burden of handling all the aspects of the publishing. Then again, the kind of writing undertaken can give hints to the modes of publishing preferable.

For instance, a standalone book would require far more robust marketing strategies than say a series, which might sell pretty good of the story is engaging enough. In this sense, the series can be considered to be published through hybrid publishing as that would bring in the perks of higher royalties, greater chances of guaranteed sales of the subsequent books in the series.

At the end of the day, having a better understanding of the book, the target group and the available means can help in better decision making. Nothing is set in the stone. Base on the preference and goal, one can always hop on from one mode to the other as the book and author requires.